Multiple teams are making a late run at the Philadelphia Phillies with offers for pitcher Cliff Lee as Wednesday's trade deadline nears baseball sources told ESPN.com Friday.

Although Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. declined to address the extent of other teams' interest in Lee he said he's keeping an open mind on Lee and numerous other Philadelphia players who might generate interest at the deadline."I never put any real absolutes on anything" Amaro said by phone Friday. "Although we don't have any desire to move a guy like that because we view him as someone who will be key to our future I am a businessperson as well and I'll be a good listener.

"I can't sit here and say I'm not going to trade Chase (Utley) or Cliff or Michael Young or Chooch (Carlos Ruiz) or any of these guys. Some guys are less tradable than others. But I think I owe it to us as an organization to listen. If teams are going to come at us and suggest things I'm not going to turn off the faucet and stop listening to them."

The Phillies have gone into a tailspin since the All-Star break losing five straight on their road trip to fall eight games behind Atlanta in the National League East division at 49-53. Coolstandings.com gives the Phillies only a 2.8 percent chance to make the postseason.

Lee 34 would qualify as the crown jewel of a starting pitching market that's headed by Jake Peavy Ervin Santana and Bud Norris now that Matt Garza has been traded from the Cubs to the Rangers. Lee a four-time All-Star and former American League Cy Young Award winner is 10-4 with a 3.05 ERA this season. He ranks fifth among National League starters with a 1.01 WHIP and a Wins Above Replacement of 4.0.

Any trade talks involving Lee are likely to be complicated by his contract situation. He signed a five-year $120 million contract in December 2010 that pays him $25 million in each of the 2013 through 2015 seasons. The deal includes a $27.5 million club option for 2016 and a $12.5 million buyout.

Lee also has a provision that allows him to block trades to 21 clubs each year.